Change on the Horizon
by Pawprinter
Summary: When Peter is accepted to the college of his dreams, he can't help but remember Tony's promises to help get him into MIT. He grieves the fact that he won't get to see him graduate high school, never mind attend his old college. Somehow, he knows Tony would be proud. {To Infinity and Beyond series, part 6}


**This fic focuses on the family relationship between Peter, Pepper, Morgan, May and Tony. This fic also follows canon as established in "Avengers: Endgame."**

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Change on the Horizon**

* * *

When Peter first opened the acceptance notice in his emails, he let out a startled yelp.

The night started out fairly ordinary. He saved a few cats, helped a few elderly people, and gave directions to a tourist. _Normal stuff – _stuff that reminded him that he was still a kid and still a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man – not a superhero that had been to space, fought a Titan, and died.

When his phone let out a sharp chirp, he was perched on the edge of a roof, his red mask pulled over his eyes. As soon as he seen _MIT Admissions Office _as the sender, he nearly lost his balance.

"Holy shit."

Peter ripped off the mask with shaking hands. His stomach was squirming and it felt like cold hands were running up and down his spine. As quick as he could manage, he scrambled away from the edge of the roof, suddenly afraid of tipping over the edge.

With his back pressed against the wall of the roof, he clicked open the email.

_Dear Mr. Parker,_

_Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that your application to Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been accepted and we are offering you admissions to your chosen program in the Fall of 2026._

The email went on an on, explaining more about the college and the program he applied for, but he couldn't continue to read. He could see the words on the page, but _holy shit he just got accepted to MIT._

His heart was racing and he could feel a smile stretching across his face so wide that it hurt. MIT was his first choice school, and he never imagined he'd actually get in. The application process had been long and stressful, the essays he wrote were convoluted, and the community service aspect of his application was fairly bare (even though he spent most of his free time doing community service).

_But he did it. _

Between his marks, the letters of reference and extra curricular activities, he must've scored enough points to make up for what was lacking in other areas.

Not only was he accepted, but he was offered a scholarship, too. It was right there, in plain writing, at the bottom of his acceptance letter.

He jumped up from the ground, finally getting over the initial shock. His body was still shaking, but it was from excitement and adrenaline, not from fear like it was earlier.

Peter quickly took a screenshot of the letter and sent it to May, his laugh of disbelief being caught in his throat. He could barely contain his excitement. It felt like he was flying, or falling, or _something._

**May:  
**_PETER!_

**May:  
**_CONGRATULATIONS!_

The following few texts included a large variety of celebratory emojis. He let out a chuckle at her excitement. He felt on top of the world.

**May:  
**_We're celebrating. It's official._

May was always one for celebrating the little things. _"Every accomplishment, no matter how small, is just that; an accomplishment," _she used to say. It looked like she still had that mentality, years later.

_**Peter:  
**Something small. __Please._

**May:  
**_You act like I don't know you._

He smirked at that. Of course his aunt would already know he wouldn't want a big celebration, despite this being one of his biggest achievements of his life.

**May:  
**_Ned, MJ, Happy, Pepper, Morgan?_

Peter smiled wider at the list of people his aunt was already planning on inviting over. _His family. _Somewhere between all the death and the dust and the returns, they'd all become a family to him. They were all people he loved – all people that stood beside him through it all.

_Three years. _It had been three years since the vanished were retuned. It had been three years since he was brought back to life.

_Three years _of those people being his only family. Three years of those people standing beside him, healing with him, going through life with him.

He quickly typed a response to Aunt May.

**Peter:**_  
Sounds perfect._

**May:  
**_Okay. Tonight. Five o'clock._

Five o'clock was only two hours away. He was impressed that his aunt was sure she'd be able to coordinate their little celebration in that amount of time. Then again, she didn't need to get much ready.

**May:  
**_Stay out for a while._

**May:  
**_Please._

She included a smiley face with the last text.

**May:  
**_I'll get the place ready for the party. _

Peter insisted he could help, but she brushed him off easily. Apparently, she had something planned ever since he applied, which wasn't terrifying or anything.

He let out another blissful chuckle and pulled the red mask over his face again. If May didn't want him home for another few hours, that meant he still had a few more hours for patrol. Cats weren't going to save themselves.

* * *

Two hours later, Peter was headed back to the apartment at May's request. He slid his room window down and climbed in on the ceiling. Even though it had been years of May knowing his identity, old habits died hard. That, and it would be more than slightly weird if Spider-Man used the front entrance.

Before his feet touched the ground, his room door was flying open and a tiny human came flying in. Her brown hair was done into two pigtails and the smile on her face could light up a room.

"Petey!" She tackled him as soon as he landed on the ground, her tiny arms wrapping around his legs.

He let out an affectionate chuckle and rubbed her head. "Hey, Morg."

_Morgan Stark, _the daughter of Tony and Pepper, was one of his favourite people. She was seven-years-old, and had so much light in her that she reminded him of the stars.

It had been three years since he was brought back to life, but it had also been three years since they lost Tony. While he lost a father figure, she lost a father. They both lost family that day, and, ever since, they became each other's families.

He'd babysat her, taught her about the world, held her hand while crossing the street, comforted her after nightmares, eased her fears, helped her with homework, and sat with her and cried about how much she missed her dad. He did it all_. They were family_.

"Morgan!" Pepper was rushing into the room after her daughter, a small smirk on her face. "Leave Peter. He needs to change." She clung to his Spidey suit, eliciting a laugh from him. It always warmed his heart to see how excited she was to see him, even if they had seen each other a few days before.

"It's okay," he promised them. He bent down and scooped Morgan off the ground, twirling her in the air. She let out an ear-piercing giggle. _God, _she was getting old. He was thankful for his super strength in that moment. He'd hate the day where she'd get to old to spin in his arms. "I haven't seen my favourite girl in a while."

"See, mommy?" Morgan glanced at Pepper over her shoulder.

Pepper's smile was soft. "As long as Peter's okay with it." She turned her gaze to Peter. "Your aunt says you have exciting news for all of us. She wouldn't say anything before – just to come with our party hats."

With this, Morgan perked up. "Party hat!" She wiggled out of Peter's grasp and sprinted from the room. "Be right back!"

"Morgan _actually _brought a party hat?" Peter looked amused. "Why am I not surprised?" Pepper's expression was filled with tenderness.

Peter wasn't too sure how to approach the subject of MIT. Hours ago, he was beyond excited to head to the school of his dreams. He was ready to graduate and study something he loved.

_Then, he remembered the school was in Boston. _Boston was almost four hours away from New York. Boston was almost four hours away from his family; May, Pepper, Morgan.

He'd left home before, but only for weeks at a time. After he was brought back, life carried on as normal. He went on school trips, friends in years above him graduated and moved away, he travelled across the world.

Now, the thought of him being away from his family – from people he cared so much about – made him unsure. These were the same people that he relied on for support. These were the only people who knew him – who _truly _knew him.

They were his family. Sure, the thought of leaving them crossed his mind before, but it hadn't been so real. Now, with Morgan running around his apartment giggling, and May setting up a party, he realized exactly what going to MIT would mean.

He wouldn't get to watch Morgan grow up.

Morgan – the girl he watched grow for the last two years. Morgan – the daughter of someone he considered a father. Morgan – the girl who was his sister in everything but blood.

_He'd miss everything. _He wouldn't get to lift her in his arms and twirl her, he wouldn't be able to get ice cream with her, he wouldn't be able to babysit her, or build LEGO with her.

Pepper hung in his doorway, watching him closely. He tossed the Spider-Man mask onto his desk and tried to bite back on his sudden mood dip.

_I'm excited for this. I worked for this. I want this._

All of those things were true. He _was _excited for this. He _did _want this. But that didn't erase the fact that he didn't want to leave behind his family.

"You have news?" Pepper prompted, still examining his expression closely. The smile that came to Peter's face wasn't forced. After all, he was _extremely _happy. It still felt like a shadow was hanging over his shoulder.

"I do," he said. He was inexplicably nervous to tell her. He couldn't find the logic in it, but he could feel the cold hands of fear gripping his stomach. "I… I actually got an email today. I've been accepted to MIT."

The room was silent at first. As soon as he got the words out, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. _Why was he so nervous to tell Pepper?_

Pepper, on the other hand, looked shocked. Her eyes were wide and her lips slightly parted. The corners of her lips were turned upwards in a half-smirk. Second by second, he could see the joy growing more and more.

Finally, after the longest three seconds of his life, Pepper was racing forward, her arms open in a hug.

It wasn't that he hadn't hugged Mrs. Stark before. He had; multiple times, in fact. They'd been as close as family for over three years. What threw him off was how _emotional _she looked in that moment.

"Whoa!" Peter wrapped his arms around her, confusion building in him. "Are… Are you okay, Pepper?"

She pulled back far enough so he could see her expression. He could see unshed tears in her eyes and the nervousness in his gut grew ten-fold.

_Dammit. I knew something was wrong. Of course I was nervous for a reason. _He blamed his perception on his spidey senses.

He couldn't put his finger on why she could be upset though. Was it because he was leaving Morgan, and she knew she'd be upset? Was it because he would be leaving Tony's lab abandoned like it had been for so many months after his death (this thought only crossed his mind once or twice)?

Neither of these reasons seemed like a good explanation. He was completely stumped and thrown by Pepper's reaction.

Before he could start to reassure her, she was speaking. "I'm just _so _proud of you, Peter."

Now _that _wasn't what he was expecting.

When Pepper pulled back again, he could see it. What he mistook for tears of sadness were actually tears of joy. Her shock wasn't because the news was bad – she was in disbelief. Her expression wasn't one of hurt, it was one of pride.

"Oh."

Pepper squeezed his shoulder. "I'm so happy for you." Her smile warmed. "I always knew you could do it. We all did."

_We all did. _Call it intuition or spidey senses, he had a feeling that this meant more than what was at the surface.

He swallowed thickly. "All?" he echoed.

When he met her eyes again, they were filled with a mixture of pride and a tinge of sadness.

"Tony always believed you could do great things," she said after a moment. Hearing his name brought both a warmth and a chill to him. _God, he missed him so much. _"He'd be _so _proud of you, Peter."

It felt like someone punched him in the gut with that last sentence. His throat had grown tight and his eyes burned with unshed tears. In that moment, it felt like only _days _had passed since they lost him – not years.

Tony was always one of Peter's biggest supporters alongside May. During one of their earliest conversations, he offered to help Peter get into MIT. More than once, they talked about what Peter wanted to do after high school graduation.

_"__Stay in school, kid. I did and look at me. I'm freaking Iron Man. And awesome."_

_"__Humble, Mr. Stark. Real humble."_

_"__It would be a lie if I said anything else."_

Hearing Pepper say how proud he would be of him made Peter want to sob. It hit him that, even though Tony stood by him and encouraged him to keep working, he'd never see him graduate. Despite him offering to help him get into MIT, he'd never see him attend.

It was a lot to swallow.

Pepper's eyes were sad. "During those five years, he told me how much you deserved to graduate. He was distraught by the fact that you would never be able to graduate high school, or go to college, or have a family, or live your life. _It tore him up._" Peter only managed a nod. He heard this before. "I know that, if he were here right now, he'd be ecstatic and so proud of you. _This _is what he wanted for you. He wanted you to live your life."

Peter let out a wet laugh and Pepper pulled him in for another hug. "Thanks, Pepper. I… I needed that."

She nodded. "I know, kid." She let out a soft chuckle. "I also know you're probably worried right now, hm?" _Ditto. _"Don't be. You've worked so hard for this. It's what you deserve." When she met his eyes again, her tears were subsiding. "MIT wont know what hit it. A mind to rival Tony Stark's."

He let out a quick laugh before turning serious. "And what about Morgan? She'll be so big when I get back."

"You won't be gone forever," she promised him. "You're only four hours away and you'll be gone for what? Four years?"

"Give or take."

"Regardless, you'll be back before you know it." She stepped back from him. "Don't worry about us, Peter. This is _your _time. We'll always be here for you – don't worry about that." She brushed a curl of his off his forehead with a tenderness only a mother could have. "We're so proud of you. _All of us. _And I know Tony would be, too."

Before he could reply, Morgan was running back into the room, a party hat perched on her head and her hands behind her back. She ran straight past Pepper and stopped inches away from Peter's legs.

Her eyes held a mischievous glint in them. It reminded Peter of her father. "This one is for you!"

She pulled what she was hiding behind her around and cackled wildly. In her hands sat a single Spider-Man themed party hat. At seeing this, Peter let out a loud laugh.

As he crouched down to let Morgan place the hat on his head, he couldn't help but think of what Pepper said. With her few words, she managed to put all of his worries to rest. Her words brought him a sense of peace he didn't know he was lacking.

As soon as Morgan was satisfied with the placement of the hat, he swooped her into his arms and held her tightly.

He'd miss this, but Pepper was right.

_His family would always be there for him._

* * *

**So, this fic started out with the general idea of Peter being accepted into MIT, and then Pepper saying how proud Tony would be, and it kind of evolved from there.**

**Thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated!**


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